The Old Man and His Door - Hardcover

Soto, Gary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399227008 ISBN 13: 9780399227004

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 1996

Synopsis

Failing to pay attention to his wife's instructions to bring el puerco, the main dish, to his neighbor's barbecue, an elderly gardener brings instead la puerca, a door, with educational results.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

A Mexican ditty inspired this buoyant caper about an elderly man who grows "the hottest of hot chiles" and raises pigs "as plump as water balloons," but who is not very adept at listening to his wife. Leaving early for a barbecue with the neighbors, she instructs him to bring el puerco, the pig. But instead the preoccupied fellow removes la puerta from its hinges, and leaves home with a door on his back. It is a propitious mistake, since the well-intentioned man uses this item to perform several important services, among them entertaining a bawling baby and saving a drowning boy. And, as a result of his distractions, he accumulates a range of edibles that are eagerly consumed at his neighbors' feast. A fluid storyteller, Soto (Too Many Tamales) peppers this animated narrative with Spanish words, which are translated in a glossary that precedes the story. Working in an unusually warm palette of heated-up violets, rubies and greens, Cepeda (The Cat's Meow) relies on skillful use of color in broadly delineated compositions to flesh out el viejo's personality and augment the story's humor. Especially endearing are the images of one jovial, unquestionably plump pig who, thanks to the absent-minded hero, ends up being nobody's dinner. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3^-7. In the universal tradition of the wise-fool story, this gentle disaster tale is funny and affectionate. A glossary at the front explains the Spanish words in the text, and Soto quotes from a Mexican song that frames his story. An old man doesn't listen carefully to his wife's instructions, so instead of taking the pig (el puerco) to a barbecue party, he sets out with the front door (la puerta) on his back. He gets into trouble on the way, usually through helping others, and each time, he's rewarded with something for the barbecue. Although the old man means well, he doesn't quite get it, but from his confusion, innocence, and generosity, things come out all right. Both the troubles and the rewards are small (when he makes a crying baby laugh, she gives him a kiss, which he later passes on to his wife). Cepeda's brightly colored illustrations express the droll humor with character, loving detail, and a strong sense of theater. The combination is great for reading aloud. Hazel Rochman

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0399227008
• ISBN 13: 9780399227004
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1